Litigation Release No. 15416 / July 18, 1997
SEC v. Sunbelt Development Corporation, Wendell Rogers, Donald Hammond, and
Willis Davis
(Civil Action No. CV 97-1387, W.D. La.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that a complaint for
injunctive and other relief was filed by the Commission on July 15, 1997,
in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana,
Alexandria Division, against Sunbelt Development Corporation ("Sunbelt"), a
Louisiana corporation; Wendell Rogers ("Rogers"), director and co-founder
of Sunbelt; Donald Hammond ("Hammond") and Willis Davis ("Davis").
The complaint seeks to permanently enjoin defendants Sunbelt, Rogers,
Hammond and Davis from violating Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a)(1) through
17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933. Further, the complaint seeks to
restrain Sunbelt, Rogers, Hammond and Davis from violating Section 15(a)
and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
thereunder. The Commission also seeks an order requiring an accounting of
all funds received from the sale of securities by the defendants during the
scheme, disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains acquired by the defendants
along with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
The Commission's complaint alleges that violations of the antifraud
provisions of the securities laws by the defendants occurred between mid-
1993 and mid-1994. Rogers, Hammond and Davis, all of whom are/were
ministers, misrepresented or omitted material facts when they sold
securities to members of their respective churches, to members of churches
of the same denomination and to friends and relatives of the church
members. The defendants promised exorbitant returns on investments along
with the return of the investors' principal when, in fact, Sunbelt was
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actually operating a Ponzi scheme. More than $3.5 million worth of
unregistered securities were issued to over 200 individuals in at least 16
states during the scheme.
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